BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for November 21 – 25, 2011
This week’s round-up is actually a round-up of the news from Thanksgiving weekend – offered in our traditional Headlines style.
OWNERSHIP
FCC Proposing Leaving Local TV/Radio Ownership Caps In Place
FCC’s Genachowski Trying to Keep Media Ownership Review Quiet
Tribune files new plan in its bankruptcy case
If You’re a Venture Capitalist, You’re Most Likely a White Man
PIRACY
SOPA’s ugly message to the world about America and internet Innovation - analysis
Tech coalition backs off SOPA support
Why Is Lawrence Lessig MIA In The Great SOPA Piracy Debate? - editorial
Why Might A Publisher Pull Its E-Books From Libraries? - analysis [links to web]
Occupy Wall Street Drives Economic Coverage - research [links to web]
AT&T/T-MOBILE
Kansas attorney general urges FCC to kill AT&T/T-Mobile deal
AT&T must share documents with government witnesses, court rules
MORE ON SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
Super Committee Fails; Incentive Auctions Will Go It Alone
First responders lobby supercommittee, 'encouraged' about prospects for public safety network [links to web]
House NY Dems: Protect Our Free TV [links to web]
Dem lobbyist for LightSquared sought meeting at White House
Cellular offload to Wi-Fi growing, and expected, says a new report [links to web]
The Move Away From Unlimited Data: Who Is It Good For? - analysis
As cellphones get smarter, are smartphones overkill? - analysis
Morgan Stanley: What iPhone really needs is more carriers
iPhone 4S data speeds, Web browsing fastest on AT&T, test shows
More smartphones now sold in China than in US
OTE, Vodafone Say Greek Phone Merger Needed to Prevent Failure [links to web]
DIVERSITY
Minority Groups Heaviest Users Of Mobile Net
If You’re a Venture Capitalist, You’re Most Likely a White Man
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Over 77.8 million now get broadband from top cable and telco operators in the US
TELEVISION
FTC Approves Sinclair's Freedom Purchase [links to web]
Fan group optimistic FCC will review National Football League blackout rule [links to web]
CHILDREN & MEDIA
Kid apps explode on smartphones and tablets. But are they good for your children?
For Their Children, Many E-Book Fans Insist on Paper
Don't hand it to Junior just yet: Kindle Fire lacks key purchase controls [links to web]
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE/OPENNESS
White House inaction stalls FOIA recommendations [links to web]
White House Ramps Up E-Petition Responses [links to web]
GAO tells Congress why federal IT projects succeed [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Five reasons the US tech lead is in danger - analysis [links to web]
In Surprise Ruling, Judge Throws Out Netflix Price-Fixing Lawsuit [links to web]
Chicago Tribune doubling, tripling subscription rates [links to web]
OWNERSHIP
MEDIA OWNERSHIP DECISION CIRCULATED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to a source familiar with the document, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has circulated a rulemaking proposal recommending the FCC scrap the radio-TV cross-ownership rules, but leave in place the radio and TV local market ownership caps and essentially preserve the FCC's attempted loosening of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules, which the FCC tried to do under Republican Chairman Kevin Martin. "It is more or less the same framework of the 2006 Quadrennial," said the source of the newspaper-broadcast change.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which is currently being circulated among the commissioners, may be voted without being on a public agenda meeting, according to the source -- there are apparently at least three votes for it -- but the final order will likely be scheduled for that public vote sometime next year, after a sufficient notice and comment period on the proposed changes. Since the NPRM has not yet been voted, there is still opportunity for commissioners to make suggested tweaks and modifications, and for industry to pitch its points, but circulation of the item essentially represents the chairman's OK on the plan. While the NPRM basically reinstates the Martin plan of making combos between TV stations and newspapers in the top 20 markets presumptively in the public interest, it does put out for comment the Martin four-part test for determining whether such combos should be allowed and whether they should be the criteria. (11/18)
benton.org/node/106419 | Broadcasting&Cable
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES REVIEW
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
The last thing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski wants to talk about are the media ownership rules. With the exception of a fleeting mention of media ownership, Genachowski has said very little about the 2010 quadrennial review of the rules required by Congress. But time is running out. If the FCC doesn't get to the rules soon, it will slam right into the election, making ownership rules an even more toxic political issue at the time when local politicians count most on their local media outlets. Genachowski’s solution is to keep the proceedings as quiet as he can, and the end of the year is the perfect time to do that. So without any announcement, early this month Chairman Genachowski began circulating a draft of a notice for proposed rulemaking to address the required review. Since the draft is being handled "on circulation," chances are the NPRM will be voted on and released for comment without a public meeting. Only the final order would be voted on during a public meeting early next year. (11/21)
benton.org/node/106418 | AdWeek
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NEW TRIBUNE PLAN
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Michael Oneal]
Tribune Company and a group of its senior creditors filed an amended plan of reorganization that the media company hopes will solve problems that prevented a Delaware judge from approving an earlier version in October. In court documents, the company and its allies expressed hope that the new plan could pave the way to an exit from the nearly 3-year-old Chapter 11 proceeding. That will depend on how U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey responds to a new proposal that addresses disputes that cropped up among junior creditors after his ruling. Tribune Chief Restructuring Officer Don Liebentritt said the company will ask for an accelerated timetable for plan approval at a hearing Nov. 22. (11/19)
benton.org/node/106388 | Los Angeles Times
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PIRACY
SOPA’S UGLY MESSAGE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dominic Basulto]
Imagine a country where the government is able to shut down Web sites at the slightest provocation, where elected representatives invoke fears of "overseas pirates" to defend the interests of domestic industries, and where Internet companies like Google must cave in to the demands of government censors or risk being shut down. No, we are not talking about China, North Korea or Iran — we are talking about the United States, where legislators in both the House and Senate are attempting to push through new anti-piracy legislation by year-end that would benefit Hollywood at the expense of Silicon Valley. Unlike other, more confusing efforts to regulate the relationship between content providers and other Web sites, opposition to the new Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation has led to a unified front within the tech community. (11/19)
benton.org/node/106417 | Washington Post
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BSA BACKS AWAY FROM SOPA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
The Business Software Alliance, which includes tech giants such as Microsoft, Intel Adobe and Apple, has pulled its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act, saying that some “valid and important questions” have been raised and that it “needs work.” BSA president and chief executive Robert Holleyman said in a blog post Monday evening that the coalition agrees with the basic goals of the bill, but he wants the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether the legislations has “unintended consequences.” Other tech giants, such as Google and Yahoo, have already argued against the bill, putting them at odds with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. SOPA, as the bill is more commonly known, aims to halt Internet piracy by giving the government more control to shut down Web sites that host or point to unauthorized copyrighted content. The BSA originally supported the act, saying that it would “curb the growing rash of software piracy” promoted by illicit Web sites. Even then, however, the group stressed that it was important to “strike the right balance” between stopping piracy and limiting innovation. (11/22)
benton.org/node/106416 | Washington Post
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LESSIG AND SOPA
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Jeff Roberts]
[Commentary] The debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has not yet included Lawrence Lessig, the genius law professor who created models to understand Internet culture and economics at a time when Google was still brand new and iTunes and YouTube didn’t yet exist. Lessig is nowhere to be found. The copyright scholar has instead been promoting his idea of using state-level conventions to pass a constitutional amendment that would reform campaign finance. The move is consistent with Lessig’s announcement several years ago that he was stepping back from copyright issues in order to research institutional corruption. The goal is a laudable one, but, frankly, it’s playing out at best as quixotic and at worst as a Nader-like vanity project. (11/20)
benton.org/node/106415 | paidContent.org | Prof Lessig responds
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AT&T/T-MOBILE
KANSAS OPPOSES AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile in a filing. Schmidt noted that the merger would reduce the number of national wireless competitors from four to three, and that AT&T is already one of the two largest firms, along with Verizon. He also argued that T-Mobile has a reputation as a low-cost, innovative competitor. "The loss of T-Mobile through its consolidation with one of the two industry giants will deal a blow to competition and, ultimately, to consumers' choice, satisfaction and cost, with no substantial benefit to offset this loss," Schmidt wrote. (11/22)
benton.org/node/106414 | Hill, The
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AT&T MUST SHARE DOCS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
AT&T will have to share sensitive company documents with the Justice Department’s outside lawyers and witnesses, a U.S. District Court ruled. The Justice Department is suing AT&T to block its acquisition of T-Mobile, arguing the deal would violate antitrust law by stifling competition in the wireless market. AT&T had already filed the documents with the Federal Communications Commission, but it resisted allowing the Justice Department to share documents with outside witnesses. AT&T argued that the documents contain confidential company information that witnesses would not need. “Plaintiffs’ request will enhance their ability to focus on the pertinent witnesses and to target their pre-trial preparations, thereby facilitating the just and efficient resolution of this matter at trial,” wrote Special Master Richard Levie, who is overseeing document pre-trial issues for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. (11/22)
benton.org/node/106413 | Hill, The
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MORE ON SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
SUPER COMMITTEE AND SPECTRUM AUCTIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The deficit-reduction super committee has failed to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 billion, triggering defense and other cuts and leaving the spectrum incentive auction plan to go it alone in a stand-alone bill if it is to become the law of the land. The plan for auction of broadcast spectrum for wireless and the billions it would have supplied for deficit reduction had been on the table as part of the committee negotiations, but the committee said it could not come to an agreement on a package of measures.
A Senate bill to authorize the auctions is awaiting a floor vote, while a different House version has yet to get a vote in committee, though there is word a markup could come as early as Dec. 1. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W. VA), who sponsored the Senate bill, pledged Monday to push for stand-alone passage before year's end. Commenting on the news of the committee's failure, President Barack Obama said that his plan, which he sent the committee in September, would have achieved the committee's goal of cutting the deficit by $1.2 billion--that plan included the spectrum auctions. But he said Republicans continued to be the main stumbling block. The FCC has been pushing for the legislation to get moving on its spectrum reclamation plan to free up more spectrum for wireless broadband, while broadcasters have been arguing that any voluntary auction must protect existing broadcasters' coverage area and signal quality. CTIA: The Wireless Industry was quick to push for stand-alone spectrum auction legislation. (11/21)
benton.org/node/106412 | Broadcasting&Cable
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GEPHARDT AND LIGHTSQUARED
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Rachel Leven, Brendan Sasso]
Lobbyist and former Democratic majority leader Dick Gephardt (Mo.) sought a meeting in April with the White House on behalf of the wireless company LightSquared. The requests to the White House, made in emails sent April 22 and April 27 by an employee at Gephardt Group Government Affairs, were initially rebuffed. White House staffer Avra Siegel said a meeting about LightSquared “wouldn’t make sense” because the company’s attempt to build a wireless network was an issue for regulators, not the White House. “This is an issue that an independent regulatory agency is working on and the White House is not involved, so a meeting here wouldn’t make sense,” Siegel wrote. (11/19)
benton.org/node/106411 | Hill, The
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MOVE AWAY FROM UNLIMITED DATA
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Ed Finegold]
Unlimited data plans are the genie mobile operators are steadily stuffing back into the bottle. Though they have been wildly successful at enticing users to migrate to smartphones and take up data plans -- hence expanding their monthly expenditure with mobile operators -- many experts predicted at the outset that the all-you-can-eat model would be short lived. As unlimited plans exit the market (to a steady chorus of boos from many consumers), the question arises whether the shift away from them is good for anyone. Hugh Roberts, an internationally recognized expert on communications billing and strategic consultant to some of the world’s leading operators, sets the gradual disappearance of unlimited plans in a greater economic context. Roberts says that "given the current economic reality in most developed markets" communications service providers in general have often "resorted to knee-jerk reactions focused on cost cutting" in an effort to "offset declining voice revenues." He says that hand-in-hand with these moves has been a tendency to exercise "claw back strategies such as tiered pricing in place of one-size-fits-all subscriptions," but questions whether these moves truly benefit operators in the long term. "The basic choice is a balancing act," says Roberts, as service providers must choose between "all-you-can-eat" which may drive customer retention, and "usage based pricing" which may result in near-term average revenue per user improvement—"but at what cost?" The real problem for operators, says Roberts, is that while unlimited data plans have been a "useful entrapment mechanism" as part of an overall offering to customers, "it was not, is not, and can never be an end-to-end sustainable business model." Operators therefore face a tough task as they must "re-educate and incentivize customers to accept changing realities," Roberts says. Consumers, Roberts argues, are likely to get the short end of the stick in the near term as unlimited options are taken away. (11/21)
benton.org/node/106409 | Connected Planet
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CELLPHONES GETTING SMARTER
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Paul Krill]
How much difference is there anymore between smartphones and the "feature" phone -- that breed of cellphone with basic social networking, games, and Internet connectivity? A Microsoft exec says the two are blurring, though that may have something to do with the fact that Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is a less-smart smartphone than many of its competitors. Still, in Europe Samsung's Bada mobile OS has done well, and Nokia recently announced its Asha line of feature phones for developing countries in an attempt to bring the basic capabilities of smartphones to the masses. And when Research in Motion ships its QNX-based BlackBerry smartphones next year, the company will continue to sell its current BlackBerry OS models to developing nations. Feature phones are being used more and more for application deployment, akin to a smartphone, says Joe Shirey, Microsoft's director of developer and platform evangelism: "The big thing we're seeing is this line between the feature phone and the smartphone is really starting to blur. People are starting to deploy apps to some of these feature phones." (11/21)
benton.org/node/106408 | InfoWorld
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IPHONE NEEDS MORE CARRIERS
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Philip Elmer-Dewitt]
In a series of well-researched charts, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty has put her finger on the one factor -- all others being equal -- that really drives smartphone sales: The number of cell phone operators that sell the thing. In a report issued to clients, Huberty shared the results of an analysis of 760 carriers in 225 countries from 2007 to 2001. Over the past five years, the growth in total subscribers per year (17%) was split roughly 50/50 between new subscribers on existing carriers and subscribers signed up on new carriers. This holds true in spades, Huberty suggests, for Apple's iPhone, which since 2007 has gone from one carrier -- AT&T -- to nearly 230 carriers in 105 countries. (11/21)
benton.org/node/106407 | Fortune
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IPHONE DATA SPEEDS
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Matt Hamblen]
A study measuring the performance of the iPhone 4S on the three major US wireless carriers found AT&T to be superior in Web browsing and data downloads and uploads when compared to Apple's latest smartphone on either the Verizon Wireless or Sprint network. iPhone newcomer Sprint was found to be superior with its iPhone 4S for network voice quality on the uplink (when the user is speaking), but Sprint was also about five times slower in Web browsing and data downloads than AT&T, according to the study released by Metrico Wireless, a mobile performance measurement company. Verizon finished in the middle on those data tests, but trailed the other two carriers in voice quality. Metrico measured five performance factors shortly after the iPhone 4S was launched on all three carriers in October: whether calls could be connected and held; voice quality; data performance; Web browsing by page load speeds and video performance. In all, Metrico performed 21,000 Web page downloads nationwide with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 over the networks of the nation's largest three carriers. Metrico also ran more than 8,000 data download and upload tests and generated about 6,000 voice calls with recorded human voices. The tests were performed in a certified lab as well as several locations in five unnamed cities that Metrico called "representative of [network] conditions nationwide." Metrico did not pronounce any carrier a winner or loser in the study, noting that each had strengths. (11/18)
benton.org/node/106406 | ComputerWorld
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MORE SMARTPHONES IN CHINA
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Tofel]
Smartphone adoption may be high in the U.S. but overall smartphone sales are highest in China. A new research note published by Strategy Analytics estimates that 23.9 million smartphones shipped in China during the third quarter of 2011. That figure is slightly above the 23.3 million smartphones shipped in the US. Clearly, China’s much larger population is part of the reason, but this data suggests that in a country with 1.3 billion people, China is where it’s at for smartphone sales growth going forward. If the smartphone numbers aren’t convincing, consider that China is expected to surpass 1 billion mobile connections by May 2012. (11/23)
benton.org/node/106403 | GigaOm
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DIVERSITY
MINORITY GROUPS AND MOBILE NET
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Erik Sass]
Hispanic, Asian and African-American mobile users are more likely than white mobile users to access the mobile Internet, according to a new study by eMarketer, suggesting that these minority groups are promising targets for mobile marketing and advertising. The eMarketer finding is especially interesting considering that mobile phone penetration is highest among the white population, at 78.3%, compared to 77.3% for Asians, 74% among African-Americans, and 69.2% for Hispanics. Despite this, mobile Internet penetration is notably higher among the minority groups, with 52.9% of Hispanic mobile phone users accessing the mobile Web, along with 48.9% of African-Americans, and 48.1% of Asians -- compared to 36.3% for whites. Mobile Internet use by different ethnic groups should even out somewhat in coming years, according to eMarketer, although Hispanics will maintain a considerable lead. By 2015 mobile Internet penetration is forecast to grow to 71.1% for Hispanics, compared to 58.8% for whites, 62.8% for Asians, and 57.5% for African-Americans. (11/18)
benton.org/node/106402 | MediaPost
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VENTURE CAPITALIST SURVEY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Somini Sengupta]
The color of money is rarely discussed in Silicon Valley. Which is why, when a CNN program recently brought it up, it unleashed an intense outpouring in the technology blogosphere. Cleverly, it also generated a flurry of free publicity for a provocative CNN documentary on African-Americans in technology, weeks before it aired. This week, the industry association representing venture capitalists released what it called the census of its members. Of 600 professionals surveyed, from general partners to marketers, 87 percent identified themselves as white, 9 percent were Asian, 2 percent black or Latino, with the remaining 2 percent calling themselves “mixed race.” The numbers were roughly the same as the last survey, in 2008, when 88 percent of respondents were white. Stark too is the gender imbalance. According to the report, released by the National Venture Capital Association, four out of five professionals today are men. Of actual investors, women represent 11 percent, a lower figure than three years ago. The survey collected gender statistics only on those who were investors. In the administrative jobs, including marketing and communications, nearly two-thirds were women. Venture capital is a small and exclusive industry, with few entry points. An Internet entrepreneur who sells his or her company can join the ranks. A few come in with business school degrees in hand. “It’s largely an apprenticeship model,” Emily Mendell, the spokeswoman for the association. “Firms are very small. There are not these huge training programs so people can enter through the ranks.” (11/22)
benton.org/node/106391 | New York Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
LATEST LEICHTMAN NUMBERS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: George Winslow]
The eighteen largest cable and telephone providers of broadband services in the U.S. acquired about 635,000 net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the third quarter of 2011, a new report from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds. These top broadband providers, which have about 93% of the market, now account for over 77.8 million subscribers -- with cable companies having 43.6 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having 34.2 million subscribers. Many of the new subs were captured by cable operators, who added over 525,000 customers, about 83% of the net adds for the third quarter. Growth, however, slowed versus the third quarter of 2010, particularly among telcos who added about 38% of the subscribers they attracted last year. Cable's net ads were close to last year's pace, adding about 98% as many subs. Overall broadband additions in the third quarter of 2011 amounted to 77% of those in the third quarter of 2010. (11/18)
benton.org/node/106399 | Broadcasting&Cable
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CHILDREN & MEDIA
KIDS AND SMARTPHONES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
How young is too young to use a smartphone? In a growing number of families across the country, infants and toddlers are deftly swiping and tapping away even as they wobble toward their first steps. The swift adoption of tablets and smartphones has sparked an unprecedented explosion of software games, videos and educational programs aimed at the very youngest minds, dramatically increasing the amount of time these children are spending in front of electronic media. Experts estimate that tens of thousands of kid apps are offered on Apple and Google Android devices, with titles such as BabyPlayFace and Elmo’s Birthday. That worries some educators and child-development experts who view the flood of baby and toddler apps with trepidation. They warn that children already spend too much time in front of TVs, DVD players and computers. For children 2 or younger, all those screens can have a negative effect on development, according to a recent statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics. If you really want to help boost brain power, the best solutions can be found with unstructured play, the academy said. “Kids need laps, not apps,” said Frederick Zimmerman, an expert on media and child health and the chairman of the Department of Health Service at UCLA. (11/17)
benton.org/node/106386 | Washington Post
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PARENTS SNUB E-BOOKS FOR KIDS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel, Julie Bosman]
Print books may be under siege from the rise of e-books, but they have a tenacious hold on a particular group: children and toddlers. Their parents are insisting this next generation of readers spend their early years with old-fashioned books. This is the case even with parents who themselves are die-hard downloaders of books onto Kindles, iPads, laptops and phones. They freely acknowledge their digital double standard, saying they want their children to be surrounded by print books, to experience turning physical pages as they learn about shapes, colors and animals. Parents also say they like cuddling up with their child and a book, and fear that a shiny gadget might get all the attention. Also, if little Joey is going to spit up, a book may be easier to clean than a tablet computer. (11/20)
benton.org/node/106385 | New York Times
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